Inside the ship where the Zeus team was traveling, one of the guards noticed something strange. One of the injured, who had been motionless just moments ago, now seemed hypnotized, his eyes fixed on a broadcast playing on one of the monitors. The guard, curious, was also captivated by the screen.
Zeus, who happened to be passing through the area at that moment, noticed the scene. At first, he called out to the guard to get his attention, but he didn't respond. Frowning, Zeus decided to approach directly to snap him out of his trance.
Just as he was about to look at the monitor, he felt a tug on his arm. It was Aragon.
"Sir, don't look at that," he warned firmly. "Someone is using a mental control frequency to manipulate the events and memories of the battle. I've managed to block it thanks to my use of the aura."
Zeus raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Your ability seems to be very effective," he commented, as an invisible energy suddenly enveloped him. A warm sensation began to flow through his body. "What is this? It feels like... heat."
"It's my aura," Aragon explained. "You're now protected from mental control. You can look at the monitor without concern."
With this newfound protection, Zeus turned his gaze back to the screen. His expression grew serious as he recognized what he was seeing.
"This is impossible," he murmured. "How is she transmitting when all devices stopped working after that howl?"
"Sir, it's not her," Aragon corrected. "The woman is still down there, at the scene of the destruction. I can see through the disguise of the one appearing in the broadcast. It's someone else—a taller woman wearing a helmet that conceals her face. I'm not sure who it is, but it's definitely not the reporter, Melisa. What I don't understand is why they're doing this. It's as if they're trying to protect something from the people."
Zeus stood deep in thought, stroking his chin.
"Interesting..." he murmured to himself. "Perhaps this is some sort of divine assistance. If the broadcast convinces the population, we could avoid resorting to lawyers and that machine to erase memories. That damn thing is as expensive as it is painful."
Then, Zeus shifted his attention back to Aragon.
"What did you say about the missing and the ones who perished?"
"It seems like they want to cover all of this up as if it were a play or something similar. They're even suggesting that some just went on a trip."
"Excellent," Zeus said, a slight smile forming on his face. "Go to Lady and tell her to design a device that makes all the injured here see that broadcast immediately."
Aragon nodded and left to carry out the order without wasting time.
When he found Lady, he passed on Zeus's message. Without hesitation, she began working on the ship with the pieces she had available. In no time, she assembled a device she called a "dissipator." She instructed the soldiers to place special wristbands on the wrists of all the injured.
The soldiers obeyed immediately, without questioning her orders, as they knew Lady was the true leader of the technical team. One by one, they began putting the wristbands on, even those who were conscious.
"We're done, ma'am," one of the soldiers reported once all the injured had their wristbands.
Lady nodded and, without further ado, pressed a red button on the device's remote. In a matter of seconds, the survivors began to display the same hypnotic state they had witnessed earlier. The broadcast, projected by the agents of Team C, completed the work.
On the news channels, events took an unexpected turn. The machine displayed: "Total cooling. Releasing energy. Shutting down systems." Meanwhile, the group in the real world succumbed to fatigue. Before falling asleep, Margaret murmured with a tired smile:
"How nice would a taste of that old man's brew be, even if it tastes awful..." —referring to Eduard. Finally, they all fell deeply asleep.
Inside the machine, the five women looked at each other, confused. Suddenly, the entire place plunged into darkness, even what seemed to be a sky.
"What's happening?" Ada and Rosa asked in unison.
"I'll protect you, Marky," Azulema said, positioning herself in front of Margaret. Meanwhile, Leila observed the surroundings closely, looking for something unusual.
"I got it!" she finally exclaimed. "Look, that piece of the sky seems loose."
Leila pointed to a section of the sky that appeared to be floating, slightly detached from the rest.
"That must be our exit," she thought aloud, beginning to move in that direction, floating carefully.
The others, now trusting her for how she had protected them earlier, followed. During the journey, Azulema turned to Rosa.
"Did you see if the mission status was completed?"
"I don't know," Rosa replied. "The last thing I saw was one percent, but then everything turned off."
"Maybe we can check it once we get out of the machine," suggested Ada.
They were completely focused on reaching the loose piece of sky when Leila suddenly stopped. The others, distracted, didn't notice in time and bumped into her clumsily.
"Why did you stop?" Ada and Rosa asked, confused.
"I'm trying to move this section, but I don't have enough strength," Leila replied, pointing to the rectangular block. "Maybe if we all pull together, we can open it."
"Good idea," Azulema said, nodding. "Let's pull, everyone!"
The five of them began to pull on the piece of sky, which was the size of a rectangular tile. However, it felt like it weighed tons, as if they were trying to move a concrete block.
"Pull harder!" Leila instructed, panting from the effort.
"Wait, why don't we use telekinesis?" Mark suggested.
"That's right! How smart you are, my Marky!" Azulema exclaimed, smiling and complimenting the boy. He visibly blushed.
The five of them tried using their telekinesis, but they couldn't move the block even a millimeter.
"I think the machine drained all our energy," Ada said, exhausted.
"Then there's no choice: we'll do it the old-fashioned way! Give me permission, Leila, I'll pull, and you all pull on my waist. You first, Marky, and then the rest," Azulema ordered.
Leila, resigned, nodded. Azulema flexed her arm muscles and, with all her strength, began to pull the block.
"It's moving!" she announced, feeling the tile give slightly. "Now pull me!"
Following her instructions, the others lined up: first Mark, then Rosa, Ada, and finally Leila. Together, they pulled with all their strength until they managed to move the block.
"Move back! This is going to fall!" Azulema warned.
The four quickly stepped back, panting and sweating from the effort. The heavy piece of sky came loose and fell into a dark void beneath them.
"But there's no ground!" Leila exclaimed, frightened as she saw the abyss.
"Note to self for next time: let's train not only our minds but also our bodies," Azulema said with determination.
"Look, there's a hole where the tile was. Let's go in there! This place seems like it's about to collapse," Ada pointed out.
Without hesitation, the five of them entered the hole. The inside resembled a rabbit hole; they had to crawl almost on their bellies to move forward. Eventually, they began to see a halo of light at the end of the tunnel.
When they emerged, the intensity of the light was such that they had to close their eyes immediately. Everything around them had changed, enveloping them in a blinding white glow.
When they opened their eyes, they realized they were wearing something on their faces: visors. Quickly, they took them off and saw that they were back in the studio. The five of them rejoiced at first, but that joy soon turned to concern when they noticed their companions lying unconscious on the floor.
Azulema ran toward Margaret, crouched down, carefully turned to her, and, gently moving her by the shoulders, asked:
—Are you okay?
Margaret slowly opened her eyes and, with a faint smile, responded:
—I'm glad you're back, boss.
Ada, Mark, Rosa, and Leila rushed to check on the others. Gradually, everyone started to regain consciousness.
—They're all fine —Ada confirmed with relief.
—I'm glad we're all safe. Thanks to you, we made it back —Azulema said with a mix of gratitude and pride.
While the girls finished recovering, Ada inspected the machine.
—Boss, the machine indicates that the process was successfully completed. Everyone who watched the broadcast was successfully suggested. However… the machine is completely unusable now.
—That's a great achievement —Azulema said with a satisfied smile. Then, she added while looking at the team—: A big round of applause for Leila. Thanks to her, we were able to leave that place and complete our mission. I'm very proud of the team I have.
Her eyes filled with tears of happiness, and the group responded with applause and smiles.
—Boss, there's something else —Ada interrupted—. The broadcast ended when we left the machine, but I think it was recorded.
Azulema paused for a moment before responding:
—Don't worry. From what I was told, the machine was programmed to erase any trace of the broadcast after fifteen minutes. There shouldn't be any problem.
Despite the reassuring words, she still felt doubts inside. "I hope that's true," Azulema thought.
—This was very risky —Margaret said, looking at Azulema with a reproachful tone—. That machine almost finished us all off.
—You're right —Azulema admitted with a sigh—. I should have checked the equipment better before using it. We all knew the risks, but we'll never use this kind of technology again. I just hope something like this never happens on a global scale again.
The three identical girls looked at each other before responding in unison:
—We should ask for a vacation after this.
The comment caused laughter among all of them.
—Rest a bit, girls. Recover your energy, then we'll head home —Azulema ordered.
The girls found places to sit, while others went to wash their faces and freshen up. After a while, they all left the set, ready to head to their ship. However, just as they were about to leave, Azulema received a call on her cell phone.
—Boss? —asked a voice at the other end of the line.
—How's it going? —Azulema replied—. We completed the mission.
—Excellent —the boss replied—, but actually, I'm calling to ask for another favor.
Azulema listened attentively to the instructions. Once the boss finished speaking, she responded:
—Understood.
She hung up the phone and turned to the team, who were looking at her expectantly.
—Girls, change of plans. I thought we could rest, but we had another mission to complete before heading back to base.
Fatigue was evident on their faces, but they all nodded with determination. A new adventure awaited them.